Teacher murder accused sped away from police, court told

Warning: This article contains distressing content

A man accused of killing a head teacher by driving for more than a mile with the victim trapped under his car was tackled to the ground by a police officer the next day.

Simon Richardson, 35, was arrested on 21 April, the day after his black Volvo XC90 crashed into 56-year-old Michael Mullins at a junction in Warburton, Trafford.

Mullins, who had been cycling home from Stretford Grammar School, was dragged at speeds of over 60mph (97km/h) before he finally came loose on a country lane in Lymm, Cheshire, where he died a short time later.

Richardson, who denies murder and manslaughter, has also pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and is on trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

The jury of six men and six women were told Richardson, of no fixed address but from the Sale area, swapped the Volvo for a silver Ford transit van on the evening of the collision.

The Volvo itself was stopped shortly after 19:30 BST at an Asda petrol station in Altrincham having been spotted by officers.

Phil Barnes KC, prosecuting, said the driver was arrested and identified as Aaron Parry, who told police he had swapped it for a van a short time earlier.

Barnes said by the morning of 21 April detectives at Greater Manchester Police investigating Mullins' death were on the look out for that van.

At 10:45 BST it was seen driving on the M60 motorway in Failsworth by Insp Tom Abbott, who was on patrol in a marked car.

Abbott, who is trained in tactical pursuit, began following the van as it turned off at Junction 22 into Oldham.

The jury saw dashboard camera footage showing the van slowing on William Street where a passenger, later identified as Richardson's friend Daniel Richards, got out.

In a statement read to the jury, Abbott said he stopped his own vehicle and exited intending to detain the driver of the van.

However, as he stepped out of the police car, he saw the van suddenly accelerate away and turn left.

Abbott said he jumped back into his vehicle and pursued.

In his statement, he described the van driving with "no consideration" for other road users.

He said at one point it hit a central island causing a "cloud of dust and gravel".

The jury heard a second police officer, PC Gerard Elliott, was also in the area in an unmarked patrol car and joined the pursuit as Richardson attempted to flee.

Elliott said he spotted the van and activated his blue lights.

He said the van appeared to hit speeds of "50mph in 30mph in residential streets with double-parked cars and blind bends".

Dashboard camera footage showed the van having to stop on Co-Operation Street due to another vehicle blocking its path.

Richardson could be seen to jump out and run out of frame, and the jury heard Elliott followed on foot.

He said: "I followed the male on foot onto John Street, I did not see the male anywhere.

"As I approached a van I saw a male crouched behind it. As I ran around the side of the van I saw the male try to run."

He said he tackled Richardson to the ground before being joined by fellow officers, who handcuffed him.

The jury has heard Richardson did not answer questions in his police interviews.

Earlier in the trial, Barnes told the jury Richardson's cousin, Gabrielle Debotte, was in the passenger seat of the Volvo when it struck married father-of-two Mullins.

Debotte will appear for the prosecution as a witness, the jury were told, and is expected to describe what she saw on the journey.

Mullins was found fatally injured on a grass verge by motorcyclist Andrew Beasant-Roberts, who had followed a trail of blood from near the crash site on Paddock Lane to Wet Gate Lane.

Mullins died at the scene from injuries the prosecution claim were caused by dragging and crushing and not the impact of the collision itself.

The trial continues.

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